Hampton Stevens

Contributor

Hampton Stevens has written for The Atlantic, ESPN the Magazine, Playboy, Maxim, and many other regional and national publications. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his pit bull, Ginger.

Stories by Hampton Stevens

The Weekend Starts Today

With St. Patrick’s Day on Thursday, and all the debauchery that goes along with it, you could be excused for spending the whole weekend hungover at home. Assuming that you recover, however, and that you don’t want to spend the next four days watching NCAA basketball, we’ve got a ton of events to see around…

Celebration on basketball court

The Weekend Starts Today

What happened to winter? It barely got cold, we saw almost no snow, and now it seems like spring is almost here. Granted, the lack of a hard winter might mean a particularly nasty allergy season, but it’s nevertheless tough to argue with sunshine and short-sleeve shirts. If you’re ready to get out and enjoy…

Johannes Vermeer, Dutch (1632–1675). A Lady Writing, c. 1665. Oil on canvas, 17 11/16 x 15 11/16 inches. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer, Jr., in memory of their father, Horace Havemeyer, 1962.10.1.

3 Reasons To See ‘Reflecting Class’ at The Nelson

A new show at the Nelson-Atkins,“Reflecting Class in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer,” runs from February 24 – May 29. The exhibit explores social and economic relations in 17th-century Holland through the work of the era’s best artists. Flatland has three good reasons why you should go. It’s the Nelson, for goodness sake Far…

Cars in showroom for auto show

The Weekend Starts Today

Another unseasonably warm, dry weekend is on the way. While you’re waiting for some badly needed rain, you might as well get out and enjoy our city’s fine nightlife. And, for that matter, its daylife. First Fridays are back. Actually, of course, they never went away. You just might have forgotten about them while the…

Pianist Yuja Wang

The Weekend Starts Today

This remarkably mild February of 2016 is almost over. While you’re preparing for the big, quadrennial Leap Day parties on Monday, we’ve got a few other things to do around town. The Harriman-Jewell Series is like a trusted Yelp reviewer. If they bring a performer to KC, you can trust that it’ll be top-notch show….

The ballerina flock at "Swan Lake". (Photo courtesy Kansas City Ballet)

5 Reasons to See “Swan Lake”

Tonight, the Kansas City Ballet premieres “Swan Lake.” There are a lot of good reasons to see the show, which runs through Feb. 28. For instance, going means you’ll be able to post selfies from the Kauffman Center. Which will make you look cultured and sophisticated. If you need more than that, we have five…

JB Mauney rides Cornwell Bucking Bulls's Blue Hurricane for 85 during the first round of the New York City Built Ford Tough series PBR. Photo by Andy Watson

The Weekend Starts Today

We’ll have unseasonably warm weather this weekend. Call it a false spring. Because of it, there’s no excuse to stay home, especially since we’ve rounded up for you the world-class entertainment coming to town. Sports fans, sadly, are living in a lull. Football is over. Baseball is yet to begin. KU and UMKC basketball are…

While not nominated for Monday's telecast, the three-time Grammy nominees The Steeldrivers are at the Folly this weekend. (Credit: Robert Rausch)

The Weekend Starts Today

Ah, Valentine’s Day. For single people, it’s a festival of loneliness. For anyone in a relationship, it’s a Hallmark-hyped minefield of unreasonable expectations. The holiday is especially hard for men. The best any guy can do is put enough thought and money into the holiday to avoid getting in trouble. Then again, you may not…

Trust this guy -- The Super Bowl is better from your couch. (Photo Courtesy Hampton Stevens)

Commentary | The Super Bowl is Better From Home

For years, I went to The Big Game. Whether it was in Dallas, New Orleans or New York City, wherever the NFL decided to hold their annual orgy of self-promotion, I was there. Not this year. Just like roughly 114 million other Americans, this Super Sunday will find me enjoying the game the way it’s meant to…

Vadim Gluzman, an Israeli violinist, performs with the Kansas City Symphony this weekend. (Photo: Marco Borggreve)

The Weekend Starts Today

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. America’s greatest secular holiday, our national orgy of overconsumption, is almost upon us. Assuming that you’re not a fanatical contrarian who plans to spend the day eating cucumber sandwiches and shopping for fragrant bath soaps, we know what you’ll be doing come Sunday. You’ll be eating chicken wings and nachos while…